Hey everyone, here is the homework for this week.

Nancy:

  • http://www.clarinet-tips.com/breathing-exercises.html Here is a link with some breathing tips/exercises.
  • Remember, before you practice “long tones” try breathing in for as long as you are planning on holding the note.
  • Work on the fingerings we discussed in our lesson (Bb to E I believe). Remember to make sure your embouchure isn’t TOO tight. If the note is not coming out, or it sounds pinched, you might need to loosen up.
  • Pick up some mouthpiece patches and a thumb rest.

Susan:

  • Keep working through all twelve of your scales. Switch them up regularly, and keep trying to increase the tempos.
  • Work on the two band pieces we looked at, or check out whatever music you end up playing in symphonic band.
  • A reminder: make sure your fingers are covering the holes completely! Otherwise, you’re going to keep having issues with the squeaks.

Jonathon:

  • Continue on with the same warm up (starting the note as quietly as possible, crescendo-ing, and decrescendo-ing.) Keep trying this in all registers of the clarinet, and aim for a steady, even tone throughout the entire note.
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgVUGzrzJ20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va-Jj0xNJIA Here’s a couple of nice versions of “Days of Wine and Roses”. There are obviously some liberties being taken with the phrasing of the melody, but these will give you an idea of the “vibe” of the song.
  • Work on the first half of “Days of Wine and Roses”.
  • Check out the ending to “Equinox”. Really try to internalize the rhythm in the last four bars. Take note of which notes fall on which beats, and whether they fall on the upbeats or downbeats (1 – and 2 – and, etc.)

Aubrey:

  • Consider the notes/changes I made on “How Deep is the Ocean” and “Everything Happens to Me”. You can start thinking about altering a note here and there, sliding down to or up to a note, and changing the rhythms (eg. changing two eighths into a quarter note). If you are going to alter a note, try to make sure you change it to a chord tone.
  • http://www.dbuley.com/http___www.dbuley.com/EASY_UKULELE_SONGS_files/Somewhere%20Over%20the%20Rainbow%20chords%20-%20Full%20Score.pdf Here is the chart we used for “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (sorry for the long URL!)

Helen:

  • Keep trying to get comfortable with the sax, holding it, and getting the right embouchure. Remember, you don’t want to have too much mouthpiece in your mouth, or you will get the squeaky/honky sounds. Also, watch out for playing out of the side of your mouth and/or tucking in your lips too much! Your bottom lip should act as a sort of cushion for the sax, don’t tuck it in all the way.
  • Work on the fingerings we talked about with a metronome. Hold each note out for about 4-6 beats (whatever you can handle, breathing wise) with the metronome on 60. Aim for an even sound.

Thomas:

  • If you could stop by Long & McQuade, and pick up “Rubank Elementary Method for the Saxophone”, RICO 2.0 reeds and a different, more supportive saxophone strap that would be great. Also, Thomas needs to have his sax looked at; the neck screw doesn’t seem to be working, and the cork on it probably needs to be shaved down a bit.
  • Thomas should be working on his C major scale and his chromatic scale. Right now, he is having some trouble sustaining notes because his reed is too hard, but if you guys are able to pick up some softer reeds that will help.

Camille:

  • Camille can work through some of the exercises from her book we looked at. Remind her to play a bit louder, and not to be so tentative. Also, try to make sure she is getting the rhythms correct in the songs we worked on. Practicing with a metronome always helps!
  • Make sure she brings in her band music for our next lesson, and we’ll spend some time working on that.